Gardner has another setback; return unknown

By Bryan Hoch / MLB.com

NEW YORK -- The Yankees will continue to be without Brett Gardner for an indefinite period of time, as the outfielder suffered a setback following a Minor League rehabilitation game with Class A Charleston.

Gardner felt pain in his right elbow on Saturday morning and will be sent to see Dr. James Andrews in Pensacola, Fla., early next week. He will also be seen by specialist Dr. Timothy Kremchek in Cincinnati.

"Medicine is an inexact science," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said. "It's a Rubik's cube that we still have to solve on him."

Gardner had three at-bats for the Riverdogs in a 5-1 victory over Savannah on Friday, playing five innings in the field. The Yankees had been optimistic that he would rejoin the team on Monday in Atlanta.

That will not happen, and manager Joe Girardi said that he now fears Gardner will not return until after the All-Star break, at the earliest.

"Obviously, it's a setback, and I don't know when we'll see him now," Girardi said. "I said if he had another [setback], my thought was it would be after the All-Star break, so there's concern we're not going to have him for awhile."

The setback is the second at the Minor League level for Gardner, who has not played in a Major League game since April 17, when he made a tumbling catch in left field and strained his elbow. He had been close to re-joining the Yankees in May before again feeling pain.

"He seems to get to a point where he can do everything he needs to do, and then when he plays in a game, maybe it's the intensity being turned up a little bit; some swinging and missing," Girardi said. "It seems to bother him."

Cashman said that he needs to be careful with how much the Yankees play veterans Raul Ibanez and Andruw Jones in the outfield, but said he has not started pursuing any outfielders on the trade market.

"Joe's doing his best to protect them, but we expected Gardy back twice already, and it hasn't worked out for us," Cashman said. "No one's more frustrated than Gardy, and we're next in line in that."

A-Rod, Jeter climb all-time lists together

NEW YORK -- With one swing, Alex Rodriguez matched Eddie Murray on baseball's all-time RBIs list and allowed Derek Jeter to become just the 17th player in baseball history with at least 1,800 runs scored.

Rodriguez's first-inning single to center field off the Mets' Dillon Gee on Saturday knocked home Jeter and accounted for Rodriguez's 1,917th career RBI, tying Murray for eighth place all-time.

Jeter's run scored was the 1,800th of his career, moving him two clear of Ted Williams. Jeter is in 17th place all-time, with Carl Yastrzemski next at 1,816. Rodriguez's hit gave the Yankees an early 1-0 lead in the Subway Series contest.

Kuroda says he'll make his next start

NEW YORK -- Hiroki Kuroda said that he plans to make his next start, one day after the Yankees' right-hander was clipped on the left foot by a line drive.

Kuroda has a bruise on his foot from Daniel Murphy's seventh-inning shot in Friday's 9-1 victory over the Mets, and said he has received ice treatment and rode a stationary bike since leaving the game.

"It feels much better than yesterday," Kuroda said through an interpreter. "I plan on making my next start."

The Murphy liner completed Kuroda's sterling seven innings of one-hit ball when it hit his foot and shot to third baseman Alex Rodriguez, who caught it on the fly for a rare 1-5 putout. Kuroda said he had been on the mound for a similar play in Japan, but not in the Majors.

Bombers bits

 Yankees right-hander David Robertson (strained left oblique) is scheduled to pitch in his first Minor League rehabilitation game on Sunday for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He could rejoin the Yankees on Friday in Washington.

 Yankees GM Brian Cashman is encouraged by the progress of rehabbing right-hander David Aardsma, who is about ready to begin pitching in Minor League rehab games. Aardsma is returning from Tommy John surgery performed last July, but the Yankees do not want to put a timetable on his big league return.

 Cashman called it "a good sign" that right-hander Joba Chamberlain has been able to participate in sprints at the club's complex in Tampa, Fla. Cashman said that the Yankees have had pitchers in the past who have been unable to run and instead were limited to riding bicycles -- Mike Stanton, Randy Johnson, Darren Holmes -- but said Chamberlain seems to be an exceptional healer.

 On this date in 1928, Tony Lazzeri went 4-for-5 with three RBIs and Lou Gehrig hit a solo homer in a 7-3 win at Cleveland. The Yankees improved to 39-8, giving them a 10-1/2 game lead in the American League after just 47 games.

Bryan Hoch is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @bryanhoch and read his MLBlog, Bombers Beat. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.